Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 53: Awesome
Jin Mingxiu, who was approaching, was shocked: "This is not the method of our sect. What kind of method is so domineering?"

Shen Tang didn't reveal his purple aura this time, making it difficult to distinguish for a moment. Jin Mingxiu's mind raced, and the sword flash quickly pierced the dead man's back. He then apologized, "It was my inability to react. I was too late to act... Fortunately, the Sect Master's divine power is invincible, and he was not harmed by these scoundrels."

"Boom!" Amidst the thunder, Shen Tang turned his face slightly to the side, with a smile that seemed to be neither smile nor laughter: "As long as Master Jin knows, I will atone for my sins in the future."

In Jin Mingxiu's mind, Shen Tang's beautiful smile was like a demon, making him tremble with fear: "Thank you, Sect Master, for your forgiveness..."

The wind stops and the thunder disappears.

Five Taoist priests from the Lingyun Sect were lying in the square, having been struck dead by thunder and fire from the sky and the earth.

Farther away, a white-haired woman stood in front of Wang, the deputy leader of the Dongjiang Gang, holding an ice sword across her finger. With just one person, she was able to stop five or six people from the Dongjiang Gang from advancing an inch.

Lu Xingzhou was sitting in the middle of the square, looking towards the platform. He happened to see Shen Tang looking at him. The two looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

The whole audience was stunned.

In the eyes of the people present, the man and woman smiling at each other were simply two monsters.

A mere seventh-rank cultivator, using the underground fire of Danxia Mountain as his foundation, laid out a top-notch formation that harnessed the power of time and earth. The Lingyun Sect cultivators who had broken through the formation were utterly slain, unable to even summon their own magical instruments. This was a truly ruthless act. Among them, Xuanhe Zhenren's own magical instrument was shattered by Shen Tang's flying sword. He remains severely injured and paralyzed, his expression as if in a dream.

A fourth-grade cultivator...seems quite tall, but so is her opponent. The flying sword severely injured Xuan He, and then, without a flying sword, instantly killed two powerful warriors of the same level in Fenxiang Tower. Is this still human?
And there is the white-haired woman over there. People had not paid attention to her before. No one knew why she could stop so many people from the Dongjiang Gang by herself. Deputy Gang Leader Wang is also a fourth-rank martial artist. Isn't this woman only a fifth-rank martial artist?

What kind of monsters are these, gathering in this so-called declining Tianxing Sword Sect?
You are defeated... People would believe this sect if it said it was stronger than before.

Sheng Yuanyao touched his chin and quietly asked An Nuo: "Why don't you take action?"

Anuo blinked his eyes: "I'm just a child, what can I do..."

"Tsk." Sheng Yuanyao was the only one present who knew that this group of people were actually hiding something. At least An Nuo hadn't made a move. She had previously examined the bodies of the Huo family guards and Liu Qingcang and found traces of evil cultivators seizing their souls, but they hadn't appeared here either.

Of course, that thing is not suitable to be displayed in public.

She didn't know that Shen Tang could actually stand up. This was a hidden secret that must not be revealed to the outside world.

In other words, despite having a plethora of hidden weapons, this group still managed to completely suppress the situation. Looking at the horrified expressions on the faces of the people in the square, Sheng Yuanyao hadn't anticipated this.

After this battle, the Tianxing Sword Sect was truly so powerful that no one dared to challenge it anymore.

Lu Xingzhou invited me to the ceremony, and it seemed that he didn't let me down this time. I didn't have to do anything. Instead, I got to watch the whole thing and was very satisfied.

She whispered to An Nuo, "Killing so many people has seriously offended these forces. Even if they don't dare to besiege the Tianxing Sword Sect now in front of His Majesty's decree, aren't you afraid that something bad will happen after the storm has died down?"

An Nuo was stunned for a moment: "The limelight has passed...how long has that been?"

Sheng Yuanyao was also stunned: "Maybe in a year or two."

Anuo looked at Sheng Yuanyao as if she were a fool: "Sister, I used to think you were very smart."

Sheng Yuanyao: “?”

"Will we still be as strong as we are now in a year or two?"

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

Shen Tang's voice rang out: "Master Xuanhe... Your Excellency said that the power of the formation is blind and life and death are determined by fate. Should it be counted?"

Xuanhe Zhenren, who was lying exhausted on the ground, looked at the corpses of his followers, his face ashen and he couldn't even speak.

If he had known that his "suppression" would have such disastrous consequences, he should have been kicked out the day Edward Yang came to instigate him, and he should not have come to this ceremony at all.

But it’s too late now... Life and death are all in the hands of fate, and how can I swallow what I said in public?
Those words were said by Lu Xingzhou as he was being teased... Master Xuanhe looked at Lu Xingzhou's smiling face, and there was finally some fear in his eyes.

Shen Tang was still not forgiving: "So, what do you think of the abilities of our sect's disciples, as well as their methods of breaking spells and forming formations?"

Master Xuanhe still didn't speak.

There was no need to speak at all. He displayed such power in front of the crowd. At this time, all the forces in Xiazhou were pale.

Did Liu Qingcang ever kick out a pervert like Lu Xingzhou?

Shen Tang couldn't wait for his response and continued, "Deputy Gang Leader Wang, does the Dongjiang Gang also want to challenge us?"

Deputy Gang Leader Wang looked at the white-haired, blue-eyed woman in front of him and was silent for a long time before he slowly said, "It's a misunderstanding. The Dongjiang Gang is just here to watch the ceremony."

He and Dugu Qingli only fought once and then did not move again.

No matter what, this is someone else's founding ceremony, and the emperor's decree is still pending. An open challenge is understandable, but if you take advantage of the chaos to attack, you will be reported to the Xiazhou City Lord. Maybe the Dongjiang Gang will be destroyed by this matter. I was a little hot-headed in the chaos before, but I was sobered after being stopped by Dugu Qingli. Only a fool would continue to resist at this time. Shen Tang also carried a sedan chair: "Dongjiang Gang is the largest gang in this county. The surrounding goods are basically transported and circulated by your gang. In the future, we may also entrust you with goods for our gang. We can cooperate."

Deputy Gang Leader Wang forced a smile and said, "Of course. Sect Master Shen's divine power is so great today that our gang is happy to cooperate."

Shen Tang's gaze fell on Wu Jianchen again. "Master Wu didn't take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble like Fenxianglou did. Shen Tang would like to thank you."

Wu Jianchen said slowly, "In a public challenge among thousands of people, there's nothing wrong with being inferior in skill. Our sect won't do such things as taking advantage of the chaos to assassinate someone."

Shen Tang nodded and looked at the corpse at his feet. "Whether it's Sect Leader Wu or Master Xuanhe, there's nothing wrong with their open challenge. Only Fenxianglou launched a sneak attack while others were competing... This sect hereby declares that we are enemies with Fenxianglou from now on. If we ever meet again, we'll fight to the death!"

Bai Chi supported the exhausted Bai Jingtian and shouted sternly, "Shen Tang! How dare you!"

"Then it depends on whether I dare." Shen Tang said calmly: "Come here, take them away."

Soon, a disciple of the Tianxing Sword Sect, who used to belong to the Danxia Gang, came over with a sinister grin and slapped Bai Chi so hard that two of his teeth fell out: "Damn it, eating our Jue Hu, is it delicious?"

Bai Chi: "..."

The disciple sealed Bai Chi's mute point, and a group of people carried the two Bai family members away like dogs.

Shen Tang looked at the sky and smiled sheepishly: "Sorry everyone, I didn't expect that I spent so much time refining the elixir. It's dark now, and dinner time is over..."

Sheng Yuanyao: “?”

Someone immediately stood up wisely and said, "We have other matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave first. Sect Master Shen is delighted to have established the sect. May the great Dao be further refined and its prestige spread far and wide."

Shen Tang said politely, "In the future, I hope you will support our sect's elixir and flying sword business."

"That's for sure." Someone even started shouting, "Sect Master Shen, I want to buy that Broken Peak sword you just mentioned. Name your price."

Shen Tang smiled with a smile: "We have the Foreign Affairs Department responsible for this matter. If you are interested, please feel free to consult."

In the harmonious atmosphere between the host and the guests, Sheng Yuanyao was dragged away by her subordinates, kicking her feet and cursing: "Lu Xingzhou, you stingy guy, I helped you maintain order for so long and you didn't even offer me a sip of water, just wait for me..."

The crowd in the bustling square of tens of thousands of people gradually dispersed.

Shen Tang looked at the setting sun and sighed tiredly.

Lu Xingzhou came over in his wheelchair and asked with a smile, "Tired?"

Shen Tang smiled back: "Have I fulfilled your instructions with my performance today?"

This ceremony was a complete mess and it shouldn't have been a regular ceremony at all, but all the desired effects were achieved.

The external power was displayed, the necessary deterrence was achieved, the goodwill towards the locals of Xiazhou was released, and all the necessary advertising was done. The surrounding powerful sects were also attacked one after another, so as not to offend them all. The focus was on Fenxianglou, followed by Lingyunmen. In fact, there was still some possibility of rapprochement with the Dongjiang Gang and Cangshan Sword Sect.

The most important thing is to gather enough energy. They can't gather so much energy on their own.

The overall planning was completely in line with Lu Xingzhou's ideas, without any deviation.

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "Our princess has always been the most trustworthy person when doing things."

Shen Tang curled his lips slightly. These things were simple to say, but who to focus on and who to let go was all planned out. Without Lu Xingzhou, Shen Tang knew it would be difficult for him to do it so organizedly.

Under the sunset glow at dusk, the two looked at each other quietly, with light and shadow flickering in their eyes, but they were both speechless.

Dugu Qingli and Anuo stood aside with expressionless faces.

"Ahem." Lu Xingzhou coughed dryly and changed the subject. "Now the Fenxiang Tower is truly at war to the death. Lingyun Sect won't give up even after so many people have died. Are you afraid, Sect Master?"

"If you're not afraid, why should I be afraid?" Shen Tang smiled, glanced at Jin Mingxiu and the others standing around, and said lazily, "Everyone is tired today, let's go and rest."

Everyone bowed and dispersed, but Shen Tang did not return to his room. Lu Xingzhou made a gesture, and the group quickly circled around to the prison.

"You interrupted Jin Mingxiu from fighting because you saw something wrong with him?" Shen Tang didn't ask until they were far away.

"I wasn't entirely sure then, but seeing him hesitate, I decided it was better to play it safe. If he deliberately lost the battle, we'd lose half of our accumulated momentum." Lu Xingzhou sneered. "Then, seeing how he went to help you, I'm certain he had ulterior motives. If you hadn't dealt with those two from Fenxiang Tower so decisively, and if he had delayed even a moment, his sword might have pierced you."

Shen Tang sighed softly: "It's so hard to find someone you can trust..."

Lu Xingzhou looked at Dugu Qingli behind her and said with a smile, "You are already very lucky, my princess."

(End of this chapter)